Dallas Aeronautical Services

Amid several phenomenal advancements happening in aviation, the industry continues to encounter several operational inefficiencies due to the challenges associated with aircraft repair. The main driver behind this adversity is the shortage of aviation mechanics, which results in a significant increase in aircraft maintenance cost and delivery time. As such, airlines are potentially forced to either retain more spare aircraft to avoid cancellations or suspend their operations altogether—which pans out to be very expensive for most operators. What such organizations need is a reliable partner who can take over their MRO operations at a competitive price while ensuring minimum lead-time. Established to address this need is Dallas Aeronautical Services (DAS).

“We are an FAA part 145 repair station that provides corporate and commercial aircraft operators with comprehensive support for the overhaul and repair of airframe, sheet metal, as well as metal-bonded and composite structures,” says Mike Ward, VP of Sales, Parts, and Component Repair at DAS. As a leading aviation component repair shop, the company supports a diversified base of leading private, corporate, and military customers. Backed by a team of experienced technicians with an unsurpassed level of expertise in engineering and DER FAA approved repairs, DAS ensures aggressive turnaround times while providing the highest quality at an affordable price.

DAS prides itself on having a wide range of repair capabilities that help fix damages of all kinds—be it bird-hit inlets, accidents within hangars, worn and or corroded thrust reversers or dented leading edge. “Our services include complete repair and overhaul of doors, cowlings, inlets, flight control surfaces, leading edges, thrust reversers, and even more,” adds Ward. Equipped with two computer-controlled autoclaves on-site, DAS offers sophisticated composite bonding repairs and overhauls. The company also helps clients meet their aerospace welding needs by leveraging its potential to weld aerospace materials, such as tungsten, aluminum, inconel, titanium, magnesium, and stainless steel.

What gives DAS an extra edge is its in-house tooling and machining capabilities, which help maintain repair costs and keep turn-times down. The company is equipped with advanced CNC machines to fabricate OEM style tooling and bond forms to facilitate repairs, re-skins, re-cores, and composite and structural repairs when needed. With modern multi-axis machining capabilities, DAS can repair larger assemblies and manufacture high-precision parts that are not readily available on the market or from OEMs. “With our longstanding experience in manufacturing and reverse engineering, we participate in various manufacturing projects for aircraft OEMs and service centers. We can manufacture parts either from a drawing or from an existing part through reverse engineering,” says Ward. As an AS9110-certified repair station, the company can navigate through huge volumes of insightful data that allows its teams to have a holistic view of the repair process, giving a competitive edge to its business model.

To further elaborate on DAS' value proposition, Ward recalls its recent collaboration with a client who wanted to repair their worn and corroded aircraft thrust reversers. Unfortunately, a new thrust reverser from the OEM would cost them over a million dollars with upwards of more than 12 months of lead-time. DAS rebuilt the part from scratch in three months at a significantly low cost—one-third of the actual price—without compromising the quality. As a result, the client was able to reduce their repair spending and go operational quickly. On another positive note coming mid-summer DAS we have replacement lips skins in stock for the Challenger 300 series inlets. We will be able to offer considerable savings to the operators when replacements are needed.

Such instances of success exhibit DAS' dedication toward providing unparalleled services to its customers. Additionally, DAS has cultivated a diverse list of active partnerships within the aviation industry, including leading OEMs. To further extend its customer base, the company has a 20,000 square foot expansion plan for 2021. The acquisition of Flite Components an independent commercial aviation component part 145 repair station back in 2018 the company is in the process of integrating all of Flite into the DAS operation under one repair station the by the end of 2021. With this initiative, we envision to augment our commercial aircraft repair portfolio and attract more customers," concludes Ward.